The moment Raizen opened his mouth, the entire group of red-eyed shinobi stiffened.
Then their faces twisted in rage.
"Kill this Uchiha bastard!"
So much for introductions.
The old ninja didn't bother talking—just raised his arm and ordered his clan forward.
The Blood Pool Clan… one of the many tribes that had once fought shoulder-to-shoulder with Uchiha, only to end up exiled and nearly annihilated.
Apparently seeing Raizen's Sharingan-like eyes was all the trigger they needed.
They charged.
Raizen sighed.
"You pick a fight without checking the difficulty level. No wonder your clan fell apart after exile."
He lifted his hand.
Five fingers spread.
[Shinra Tensei]
BOOM.
The first wave of attackers was ripped off their feet, dragged toward Raizen—
Then blasted away like ragdolls fired from a cannon.
They screamed, slammed into the rocks, vomited blood, and stopped moving.
The clan elder stumbled back, horror creeping into his eyes.
"Who… who are you?"
Raizen lowered his hand, bored.
He wasn't here for this. He wasn't here for them.
He was hunting Eight Tails, and this little ambush was nothing but a detour he did not order.
"Amamiya Raizen."
He turned away.
"Hokage of Konoha. If you want revenge, come find me properly."
The elder froze.
Raizen didn't look back.
But behind him, panic in the Blood Pool Clan erupted like wildfire.
Blood Pool Clan POV
"H-Hokage…?"
The name echoed inside the elder's mind like a funeral bell.
Konoha's Hokage—the man who broke Cloud.
Captured tailed beasts.
Shook the entire continent.
And they had just tried to kill him.
"Damn it… if he holds a grudge… our clan is finished."
The Blood Pool Clan had maybe a hundred survivors left.
Their Blood Dragon Eyes were powerful, yes—
But they had been exiled for generations, with no resources, no allies, and no future.
Against Konoha?
It would be suicide.
The elder's shoulders slumped.
"From this moment… no more arrogance. We can't afford enemies."
They retreated back into Hell Valley like ghosts walking toward their own graves.
Raizen Moves On
Raizen didn't spare them another thought.
A random clan with a grudge?
Fine. Add it to the pile.
Eight Tails mattered more.
For the next day, he combed the forests, rivers, and cliffs.
Finally—finally—he found a cracked footprint the size of a house.
"There you are, you overgrown calamari."
He followed it.
News from the Outside World
As he tracked the beast across the landscape, rumors trickled in from passing merchants and shinobi:
The Land of Earth unified under its leader.
The man would soon declare himself First Tsuchikage, copying Konoha's political system.
Five Tails was discovered.
Not by Tsuchikage—
But by Senju Hashirama, who crushed Iwagakure's entire army, took the beast, and walked away.
Uchiha Madara captured another tailed beast in the Forest of Death.
Which meant—
Konoha now possessed:
One Tail
Two Tails
Three Tails
Five Tails
Seven Tails
and soon, Eight Tails
Six out of nine.
The entire shinobi world was spiraling.
Every major nation had begun sending secret squads to hunt the last free beasts, terrified that Konoha would take them all.
Raizen couldn't help a small grin.
"Yeah… we're definitely the villains in someone else's story now."
Did he care?
Not even slightly.
He kept chasing.
The Sixth Beast
After three more days, Raizen stopped at the edge of a quiet lake.
Still water.
Birdsong.
No wind.
Perfect place for a giant monster to hide.
He inhaled once.
Crimson chakra surged.
Susanoo's arm formed in a burst of flame-like energy.
"Come out."
The arm smashed into the lake—
BOOOOM!
A geyser of water exploded upward.
Eight tentacles burst from the depths with a furious roar, slamming toward him.
Raizen's eyes narrowed.
Time to end this without another continent-shaking fight.
"Rinnegan."
His pupils spun.
A tidal wave of willpower drilled straight into the bijū's mind.
Eight Tails froze mid-swing—
Eyes bulging—
Body seizing as its consciousness buckled under the pressure.
"Roar—!"
Terror swallowed its voice.
Its eyes turned purple.
Its body fell limp.
Raizen stepped forward, placing his hand on the creature's massive head.
"Eight Tails—captured."
Kamui opened behind him like a dark whirlpool.
He pulled the immobilized beast into the dimensional space—
And vanished without a sound.